SpaceX Launches 3rd
Station Delivery Mission for NASA (Source: NASA)
After a series of delays, including one prompted by a glitch that
forced the company to replace a faulty helium valve on the core stage
of its Falcon 9 rocket, SpaceX. launched its third contracted cargo
delivery mission to the international space station April 18. SpaceX’s
Dragon spacecraft, laden with more than 2 metric tons of cargo, is due
to rendezvous with station April 20.

The mission is the third of 12 SpaceX owes NASA under a $1.6 billion
Commercial Resupply Services contract signed in 2008. While Dragon is
berthed with station, where it was slated to stay for about a month,
astronauts will perform a spacewalk to replace an external computer — a
so-called External-2 Multiplexer/Demultiplexer — that failed April 11.
The spacewalk is scheduled for April 23. The failed computer controls,
among other things, the positioning of the space station’s massive
solar arrays. Those functions were passed to a backup computer after
the April 11 failure. (4/18)

Boeing-Built Fighter Jets
Could Launch US Military Satellites Into Space (Source:
Space.com)
And you thought space launches couldn't get any cooler: The next
generation of small satellites may blast into orbit from the belly of a
fighter jet. DARPA gave Boeing a $30.6 million contract last month to
develop a 24-foot (7.3-meter) launch vehicle that would attach to the
bottom of an F-15E Strike Eagle.

The concept calls for the jet to drop this vehicle when it reaches an
altitude of 40,000 feet (12,192 meters), at which point the craft's
rocket engines would kick on, carrying onboard satellites into orbit.
This launch system could slash the cost of launching small satellites —
those weighing up to 100 pounds (45 kilograms) — by 66 percent if all
goes well, Boeing officials said. (4/18)

NASA Innovative Advanced
Concept Program Seeks Phase II Proposals (Source: NASA)
NASA's Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) Program is seeking proposals
for technologies that could be used on future exploration missions. The
new proposals will build on the most promising ideas developed in the
program's first phase. The NIAC program funds cutting-edge concepts
that have the potential to transform future missions, enable new
capabilities, or significantly alter current approaches to launching,
building, and operating aerospace systems.

NIAC's Phase II studies provide an opportunity to develop the most
promising Phase I concepts. These are aerospace architecture, mission,
or system concepts with transformative potential. They must continue to
push into new frontiers, while remaining technically and
programmatically credible. NIAC's current portfolio of diverse efforts
advances aerospace technology in many areas, including construction,
human systems, transportation, imaging, and robotic exploration. (4/18)

Last-Ditch Efforts to Salvage China's Stricken Jade Rabbit Lunar Rover
(Source: South China Morning Post)
Engineers are desperately trying to revive China's crippled lunar rover
Jade Rabbit as fears grow that its mission could be over. It broke down
six weeks into its three-month mission in late January because of
"mechanical control abnormalities". And it has been parked up on the
moon's surface for more than two months after travelling just 20
meters. Engineers now say a blockage in the power circuitry is to blame
and are looking to bypass it. (4/18)

UAE's Role in the New
Space Race (Source: Arabian Business)
In November last year, the skies around the Yasny launch base in the
Russian province of Orenburg lit up as a Dnepr-1 rocket lifted off.
Included on that rocket’s payload was DubaiSat-2, an advanced
electro-optical Earth observation satellite. Ever since the launch, the
satellite has been quietly tested, and at some point last week, it
became fully operational.

The event was covered briefly in the local press, but in truth, the
steady flow of satellite launches has become commonplace. Yet only five
years ago the UAE was merely a blip on the global space radar. While
quietly building up the industry with launches of Etisalat-backed
satellite phone company, Thuraya, in 1997 and Yahsat by Abu Dhabi
investment vehicle Mubadala 10 years later, the country’s endeavours
have been on a slow, though steady, trajectory. (4/18)

A Galaxy Full of Earths?
(Source: CNN)
The amazing discoveries from NASA's Kepler planet-hunting space
telescope keep rolling in. The latest, announced this week by
astronomers, is the discovery of a planet just 10% larger than the
Earth orbiting in the so-called "habitable zone" of the star
Kepler-186. In our solar system, Earth is the only planet in the
habitable zone -- the distance from the sun where liquid water can
exist on the surface without boiling away (like on Venus), or turning
to ice (like on Mars).

Even if it doesn't turn out to be Earth-like, the number of actual
Earth-like extrasolar planets out there appears to be staggering.
During its four-year mission, Kepler observed just a tiny, random,
average piece of the sky, one you would cover with your fist held at
arm's length. More than 1,000 planets have been discovered so far from
just the nearby stars in that tiny patch of the sky. (4/18)

Musk's Reusable Rocket
Launches And Lands Itself In Texas (Source: Business
Insider)
Elon Musk's private space company, SpaceX, has been experimenting with
reusable rockets since last year. Because the cost of fuel is much less
compared to the cost of building a rocket from scratch every time, Musk
and his team are trying to master reusable rockets so they can get
closer to their goal of making commercial space travel more affordable.

The company just posted an amazing video on YouTube of its Falcon 9
Reusable rocket lifting off, rising 250 meters, hovering, and landing
on the ground right next to the launch pad. Even cooler, the video was
shot by a drone. Click here.
(4/18)

Russian Tug: Supporting
Submarines or Observing SpaceX Launch?
(Source: Aviationist)
The Russian tug “Nikolay Chiker” is an ocean tug that has often
deployed alongside Russian Navy’s high value assets. According to
Information Dissemination, the ship accompanied Russia’s spy ship
Viktor Leonov to Cuba last month, before moving off Florida, where it
was parked on Mar. 15, ahead of the launch of Dragon spacecraft (Space
Shuttle Orbiter replacement) on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket scheduled of
Mar. 16 from the SLC-40 Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Editor's
Note: So what would happen if a Russian vessel like this
one purposefully loitered in the launch danger zone to violate launch
safety constraints? (4/17)

Turn Your SatNav Ideas
into Business (Source: ESA)
Propose a great satnav idea and win a prize with ESA support to create
your own business. Previous winners are now running companies with
systems for athlete tracking and indoor navigation, and many are
supported by ESA’s Business Incubation Centers. Launched this week at
the European Navigation Conference in Rotterdam, the annual European
Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) recognises products, services
and innovations designed to improve our daily lives with the help of
satellite navigation. (4/17)

Orbital Evaluating Three
Bids for Antares Engine (Source: Space News)
Orbital Sciences Corp. said it is evaluating three bids — two Russian,
one U.S. — to produce main-stage engines for Orbital’s Antares rocket.
The engines being offered include the Russian-built, U.S.-modified
engine currently used for Antares. Orbital Chief Executive David W.
Thompson said his company has a sufficient supply of the current
Russian-built engines for three more years of Antares operations.
Orbital has three Antares first-stage structures, built by a Ukrainian
manufacturer, at an Orbital facility, with two more to be shipped soon.
(4/18)

Orbital: Amazonas Glitch
is Permanent (Source: Space News)
Satellite and rocket builder Orbital Sciences Corp. on April 17 said
the electrical failure on the Orbital-built Amazonas 4A satellite
launched in March appears likely to result in a permanent reduction in
the satellite’s capacity but that there is no risk of similar failures
on other satellites in orbit or in production. (4/18)

Urgent Spacewalk Must Dance Between Dragon and Progress Spacecraft
(Source: Universe Today)
It’s a good thing that next week’s urgent spacewalk is pegged as a
short one, because the coming days will be hectic for the Expedition 39
crew. Finding a spot for even a 2.5-hour excursion on the International
Space Station was extremely challenging, NASA officials said, because
crew time also is needed for two cargo spacecraft: the SpaceX Dragon
launch scheduled for today and subsequent Progress undocking/redocking
on station. (4/18)

Russia to Test Launch New
Angara Rocket June 25 (Source: RIA Novosti)
The date of the maiden launch of Russia’s new Angara rocket has been
set for June 25, an official with the Russian Space Agency told RIA
Novosti Friday. “The launch is set for June 25, with the 26th as a
backup date,” the official said.
He added the rocket would be fired without an orbital payload from the
Plesetsk space center, located about 800 kilometers north of Moscow.
The Angara family of rockets, in development since 1995, is planned to
be built in light, semi-heavy and heavy versions to lift a variety of
payloads between 2 and 40 metric tons into low earth orbit. (4/18)

Russia to Keep Working
With Astronauts From US, Europe, Japan (Source: RIA
Novosti)
Russian cosmonauts will continue to work with their colleagues from the
US, Europe and Japan, despite a number of recent NASA statements about
curtailing space cooperation, the head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut
Training Center said. "I have been flying with these guys, with the
Americans and the Europeans, my friends have been flying as well," Yuri
Lonchakov, a former cosmonaut, said.

Lonchakov was appointed head of the cosmonaut training center earlier
this month. He said he had accepted the offer by Roscosmos to focus on
creating a new organization for the strategic development of Russian
manned spaceflight, which would be established on the basis of the
Central Research Institute of Machine Building, Roscosmos' leading
spacecraft scientific center. (4/18)

Despite Sanctions, Russia
is Getting a $457.9M Check from NASA (Source: Washington
Post)
Despite ongoing sanctions, Russia is about to get a big infusion of
cash from the U.S. government. NASA recently renewed a contract that
allows Russia to ferry U.S. astronauts to the International Space
Station. The U.S. is, essentially, cutting Russia a $457.9 million
check for its services -- six seats on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft,
training and launch prep, landing and crew rescue and limited cargo
delivery to and from the International Space Station. This contract
also adds additional support at the Russian launch site. (4/18)

Russia, China Eye
Cooperation of GLONASS and BeiDou Navigation Systems
(Source: Itar-Tass)
Russia and China see prospects of cooperation related with satellite
navigation systems GLONASS and BeiDou in regional support and
development of chipsets, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin
said. Rogozin was taking part in a meeting of co-chairs of
Russian-Chinese committee for preparation of regular meetings between
the countries’ prime ministers. (4/18)

Despite Crisis, Yuzhnoye
Officials Say It’s Business as Usual (Source: Space News)
Ukraine’s Yuzhnoye Design Office is continuing to produce engines and
other rocket components for customers in the United States, Brazil,
Russia, Europe and elsewhere with no interruptions stemming from the
crisis in Ukraine’s relations with Moscow, Yuzhnoye officials said
April 10.

Addressing the Space Access conference here, the officials said
Yuzhnoye, based in Dniepropetrovsk — in the eastern part of Ukraine
that Russian President Vladimir Putin recently referred to as
Novorossiya, or New Russia — has become accustomed to maintaining its
operations regardless of political turmoil. “We have been able to
survive all this, including the years after the breakup of the Soviet
Union, because we operate with almost complete independence from the
government. This is essential,” said Yuzhnoye’s Oleg Ventskovsky. (4/18)

German Study Finds Pros,
Cons to Different Commercial Models for Station Resupply
(Source: Space News)
It is a story of two companies with similar contracts from NASA to
carry 20,000 kilograms of payload to the international space station.
Both develop new rockets and capsules to do the work. Both are behind
schedule but otherwise are delivering the goods. NASA is content and
seems ready to buy more services from both. But the similarities
between SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. end there.

A comparative analysis performed by the German Aerospace Center (DLR)
is in the thick of the debate in Europe about how to adapt the Ariane
rocket system to the changing commercial launch market while meeting
the launch requirements of European governments. At the center of the
discussion is whether the current Ariane 5 rocket production landscape
of more than 100 contractors spread around Europe should be abandoned
in favor of a much smaller supply chain located in a handful of nations.

In examining NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) work by SpaceX
and Orbital, DLR wanted to determine whether the companies’ very
different make-or-buy strategies have yielded a winner. Not yet, said
DLR’s Alexander Weiss. “For commercial cargo supply under the NASA
contract, both companies are competitive,” Weiss said. “There is no
clear evidence that one approach is better.” (4/18)

Muratsuchi: Support
California’s Aerospace Industry (Source: Daily Breeze)
As your Assembly member representing the South Bay, and as chair of the
Assembly Select Committee on Aerospace, I introduced legislation to
support and grow one of the most exciting new industries in California,
commercial space flight. Private companies like Space X are building
rocket ships and creating thousands of good paying manufacturing jobs
right here in Southern California. We want these companies to invest
and grow in our state.

That is why I am fighting for Assembly Bill 777, a bill that provides a
property tax exemption for the commercial space flight industry. The
California Chamber of Commerce has dubbed my bill a job creator. The
California Legislature made a significant step forward last week when
the Senate came together with a strong bipartisan vote for AB 777. The
bill will come back to the Assembly for one more vote before it
hopefully moves on to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk for his signature. (4/18)

Ancient Plants 'Frozen in
Time' by Space Impacts (Source: BBC)
Ancient plant material has been preserved in the glass formed by
asteroids hitting the Earth, scientists report. The "frozen in aspic"
appearance of what are apparently fragments of grass is spectacular
enough. But a team writing in Geology journal says that delicate
organic chemicals have also been conserved inside. Incredibly, the
searing heat generated by the impacts was responsible for the
remarkable preservation. (4/18)

US Firm is Taking Space
Tourism to Luxurious New Heights (Source: South China
Morning Post)
The prize is the panoramic curvature of the earth against the starry
scenery of space, but passengers on the HK$550,000-per-ticket World
View Experience trip to the edge of space won't have to keep the
privileged view to themselves. In-flight internet access is guaranteed
for all "citizen space explorers" who make the gas balloon-powered
trip, which from 2016 will take paying passengers on suborbital
flights. Click here.
(4/18)

Purdue Students Pitch
Moon Colony Plan to NASA (Source: Lafayette Journal
Carrier)
A Purdue University senior design class has a plan to colonize the
moon. The catch? It would cost an estimated $550 billion — well above
NASA’s annual $18 million budget. A 40-member team of aeronautics and
astronautics students outlined its plan Thursday to a crowded room,
including a few NASA administrators listening in via speakerphone from
Houston.

Project Artemis is spelled out in a hefty 1,100-page final report. It’s
the senior project for the AAE 450 capstone class and is designed to
offer a possible steppingstone to eventual colonization of Mars. Mars
colonization faces several challenges that NASA hasn’t yet addressed,
said professor James Longuski, who has led the class since 2001. No one
expects NASA to adopt the proposal in its entirety, considering the
price tag. But there’s nothing stopping NASA from taking ideas or
portions of the project. (4/17)

Marshall Prepares for
Dynamic Year with Space Launch System (Source: WAAY)
The Marshall Space Flight Center says, over the next several years, it
could break new ground, when it comes to all kinds of discoveries. As
NASA and the Marshall Space Flight Center enter next year's budget
year, they're poised to tackle more than ever before. The Marshall
Space Flight Center, the area's third largest employer, has 6,000
employees, and has a two and half billion dollar impact on Madison
County.

And they're growing, with more contracts with outside companies for the
Space Launch System. "we attract the best from around the country to
work on NASA missions, and people, from wherever they are, want to come
to Huntsville, Alabama because they know we're embarking on some earth
changing things from what we're doing on the rocket that will be the
most powerful ever, getting us further into the oceans of space than
we've ever been,” says Patrick Scheuermann, the Director at the
Marshall Space Flight Center. (4/17)

Cyclone-4 Development Not
Affected by Ukraine Turmoil (Source: Parabolic Arc)
The current events in Ukraine have not impacted the Cyclone-4 Project
development. Currently, the Launch Vehicle development is progressing
as scheduled, and it will be ready for delivery to Alcantara in the
second half of 2015. A significant portion of the Launch Site civil
construction activities has been completed as well. Most of Ground
Support Equipment has been contracted, and some has already been
received in Alcantara.

According to Azovmash, one of ACS’s main contractors responsible for
development, manufacturing and delivery of many key systems required
for the Cyclone-4 Launch Site operation, the major part of the
Cyclone-4 systems under Azovmash’s responsibility has already been
manufactured, and the other part is at the final stage of fabrication.
All activities are on schedule. Click here.
(4/17)

Solar Power Satellites: A
Visual Introduction (Source: WIRED)
Of all the spaceflight concepts NASA has seriously studied, the most
enormous was the Solar Power Satellite (SPS) fleet of the 1970s.
Czech-born physicist/engineer Peter Glaser outlined the concept in a
brief article in the esteemed journal Science in November 1968, and was
awarded a patent for his invention on Christmas Day 1973. In October
1976, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and NASA began a three-phase,
four-year joint study of the SPS concept. Total cost of the study was
$19.6 million, of which DOE paid 60%. Click here.
(4/18)

NASA's Moon-Orbiting
Robot Crashes Down as Planned (Source: ABC News)
NASA's robotic moon explorer, LADEE, is no more. Flight controllers
confirmed Friday that the orbiting spacecraft crashed into the back
side of the moon as planned, just three days after surviving a full
lunar eclipse, something it was never designed to do. Researchers
believe LADEE likely vaporized when it hit because of its extreme
orbiting speed of 3,600 mph, possibly smacking into a mountain or side
of a crater. No debris would have been left behind. (4/18)

Editorial: SpaceX Could
Soar in South Texas (Source: The Monitor)
On a spit of beach, 25 miles from downtown Brownsville sits a parcel of
coastal land that SpaceX might one day develop into the nation’s first
commercial space launch facility. At least that’s the hope.

Because the prospects of what this could mean for this region are mind
boggling. Of course, given the undeveloped, unadulterated coastal
landscape that presently exists there now and how vastly such a launch
site could transform the region — economically and geographically —
it’s understandable that this possibility is almost too much to
comprehend.

But it’s worth imagining. It’s worth dreaming. It’s worth believing
this into reality. Perhaps I’m overly optimistic. But that’s because
for the past 11 years, I lived in McGregor, near Waco, which is home to
SpaceX’s rocket-engine testing facility. I saw firsthand the economic
and intellectual benefits and worldwide recognition that this private
company brought to that Central Texas community. Click here.
(4/18)

How the U.S. Is
Vulnerable to Terrorism in Space (Source: National Journal)
Space terrorism is a growing threat to U.S. national security,
according to a new report. And an attack on a U.S. satellite—or damage
to one from another country's debris—could have astronomical effects on
national security, says the report from the Council on Foreign
Relations. The U.S. is more reliant on space than any other nation to
carry out critical national security functions, such as precision
attacks on suspected terrorists and image analysis of nuclear-weapons
programs, according to the report.

But countries like China, North Korea, and Iran are developing their
military space capabilities, increasing the risk of a dangerous
situation for the U.S, says the report. For example, if one of these
hostile countries acquires advanced space capabilities, they could
feasibly attack a U.S. satellite to gain an upper hand in negotiations,
hold off potential hostile acts, or as an act of defense, says Micah
Zenko, the Douglas Dillon fellow in the Center for Preventive Action at
the CFR and the report's author. But, according to Zenko's report,
terrorists take a back seat to another space threat: accidents. Click here.
(4/17)

Intel Community Willing
to Allow Higher Resolution Commercial Imagery (Source:
Space Politics)
For the last few years, commercial satellite remote sensing company
DigitalGlobe (and, before its merger with DigitalGlobe, GeoEye) has
been lobbying the government to allow it to sell sharper satellite
imagery that it’s currently allowed. DigitalGlobe is currently
restricted to selling imagery with resolution no sharper than 0.5
meters per pixel, but has been pushing to change that limit to 0.25
meters.

The company argued that companies in other nations, not subject to US
regulations, are providing imagery that is starting to approach
DigitalGlobe’s sharpness, and thus the company needs the ability to
sell sharper images to compete. This week, government officials have
the strongest indication to date that they’re willing to
change the resolution limits. Speaking in Florida, James Clapper said
that the intelligence community had reached “consensus” on supporting
DigitalGlobe’s call for revised resolution regulations. (4/17)

A Space Prepper’s Guide
to the End of the Earth (Source: Space Safety)
If Planet Earth was doomed and you escaped to space….could you survive?
With this handy guide at the ready, you might just have a chance. Click
here.
(4/16)

Small Satellites and
Space Junk (Source: Space Safety)
Small satellites seem to have so many advantages, but are there any
downsides? Admittedly, there are so many missions and projects that
cannot be scaled down to these small proportions. Big birds will always
fill our skies. The only potential problem that one could suggest for
the small satellite revolution is the potential for more space junk.
But will this really be a serious problem?

Let’s consider the orbits. Most CubeSats fly at fairly low altitudes.
They will not stay in orbit for decades. Furthermore, their
trajectories can be controlled from launch, and they can be tracked
fairly easily with radar. We know where they are, and where they are
going.

Most small satellites contain no propellants or explosive components.
They will remain intact until they reenter. Fragmentation due to
impacts with other objects is unlikely due to their small size. In
contrast to some other spacecraft, small satellites are normally
deployed with a minimum of jetsam. They are often popped out of launch
tubes with no other items released in the process. There will be fewer
springs, bolts or rings to clutter nearby space. Click here.
(4/16)

Test Running a Landing on
Mars (Source: Space Safety)
In 2012, NASA made a big splash when it premiered a new landing system
– Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL) to be precise – that
successfully put Curiosity on Mars. It was a complicated, staged
system, much more involved than the prior approach of crashing
spacecraft with cushioning airbags. But that complexity allowed NASA to
land a more massive rover than had ever been previously attempted.
Click here.
(4/17)

NASA Administrator and
Senior Leaders to Outline NASA's "Path to Mars" (Source:
NASA)
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will outline NASA's human exploration
path to Mars during a keynote address at the Humans to Mars Summit 2014
at 9 a.m. EDT on Apr. 22. The conference, sponsored by Explore Mars,
will be held April 22-24. Other senior NASA officials speaking at the
event include NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and
Operations William Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Space
Technology Michael Gazarik and NASA Ames Center Director S. Pete
Worden. (4/17)

Florida DOT Officials
Visit Spaceport (Source: SPACErePORT)
Officials from the Florida Department of Transportation will visit the
Cape Canaveral Spaceport on Apr. 21-22 for meetings with Space Florida
and NASA Kennedy Space Center. FDOT manages a multi-million dollar
annual fund for spaceport infrastructure. The group will visit
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Apr. 23 to discuss the
university's aviation and space transportation programs. (4/17)

Unexpected
Teleconnections in Noctilucent Clouds (Source: Space Daily)
Earth's poles are separated by four oceans, six continents and more
than 12,000 nautical miles. Turns out, that's not so far apart. New
data from NASA's AIM spacecraft have revealed "teleconnections" in
Earth's atmosphere that stretch all the way from the North Pole to the
South Pole and back again, linking weather and climate more closely
than simple geography would suggest. (4/17)

NASA Gears Up for Next
Set of SLS Engine Tests at Stennis (Source: Space Daily)
The RS-25 engine that will power NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch
System (SLS), off the launch pad and on journeys to an asteroid and
Mars is getting ready for the test stand. And it is packing a big
punch. Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center are now focusing their
attention on preparing the RS-25 engine after completing testing of the
J-2X engine April 10. (4/17)

'Tilt-a-Worlds' Could
Harbor Life (Source: Space Daily)
A fluctuating tilt in a planet's orbit does not preclude the
possibility of life, according to new research by astronomers at the
University of Washington, Utah's Weber State University and NASA. In
fact, sometimes it helps. That's because such "tilt-a-worlds," as
astronomers sometimes call them - turned from their orbital plane by
the influence of companion planets - are less likely than fixed-spin
planets to freeze over, as heat from their host star is more evenly
distributed. (4/17)